People tend to assume that only those who work in certain high-stress sectors, like healthcare or Wall Street, face daily job stress. But the truth is that work-related anxiety is much more widespread than that. As many as two in five workers in the United States find their jobs very or extremely stressful.
Small doses of stress can be helpful. They can prompt you to be more resilient and could motivate you to work a bit harder. The body, however, isn’t built to sustain high levels of stress for a long period, which is what high-stress jobs often demand. If you are constantly putting out metaphorical fires, you can end up battling anxiety.
Anxiety that is work-related, also called work stress, is a common issue throughout the country. Whether you work in a packed office or from home, you could experience the common symptoms of anxiety, including a racing heart and nausea, and they could impact your work performance and overall well-being.
What are your options if you do work in a high-stress job? Learn more about what stress at work can cause and the steps you can take to manage anxiety.
Recognizing Workplace Anxiety
One of the first steps in knowing how to manage anxiety and stress at work is to understand whether it truly is work-related. If you have an anxiety disorder, for example, you can experience anxiety no matter where you are. The trick is to understand whether the symptoms you feel occur only when working.
Watch for when you start experiencing anxiety. If you feel fine during your days off, that can show you that work is what’s causing the problem. If you work Monday through Friday, you may also experience feelings of dread as the weekend ends.
Other signs include:
- Feeling better at night but worse in the morning
- Shrinking motivation
- Feeling physically ill when thinking about work
- Avoiding new projects, meetings, and work events
- Procrastinating on work tasks
- Having trouble focusing on work-related things
You may feel overwhelmed from the moment you begin the day until you stop working and could experience some of the physical signs of generalized anxiety, like nausea, sweating, and body tension.
Why High-Stress Jobs Cause Anxiety
Jobs that place extreme time pressures on you or involve an excessive workload are considered high-stress jobs. Even if you’re not dealing with life-and-death emergencies, your body and mind are still feeling chronic pressure that impacts your mental and physical health.
Typically, high-stress jobs also don’t offer the social support you may need. The office culture may not encourage building friendships with coworkers, or you may be in a competitive field that puts you in contact with people who are looking to get ahead at any cost.
Having a demanding boss is another common cause of work-related anxiety. They may have unrealistic expectations or not offer the clarity you need to tackle tasks correctly. If you didn’t receive proper training or if the scope of your position hasn’t been fully established, you may feel like you don’t know what to expect from one day to the next.
High-stress jobs can also trigger work anxiety in people who have pre-existing mental health conditions, like depression, or who have risk factors that could make them more likely to experience anxiety. If you already live with generalized anxiety, work stress can make the symptoms much worse.
Effects of Work-Related Anxiety
If a high-stress job has prompted the development of anxiety, you can be at risk of a number of consequences. For one thing, your job performance can suffer. You may create a self-fulfilling prophecy — you’re so worried about doing badly at work that you do badly at work.
Not only does reduced job performance impact your chances at promotions and other advancements, but it also lowers your confidence in your own work. That could result in taking fewer risks. You may no longer feel motivated, or you may feel like nothing you do really matters. Any new challenge could cause significant distress.
It’s not uncommon for people who struggle with work-related anxiety as a result of a high-stress job to experience imposter syndrome. You may mistakenly feel deeply unqualified for your position and sometimes even incompetent, which only worsens your anxiety.
Work-related anxiety can also seep into your personal life. You may struggle with your relationships because you’re overwhelmed and could even develop problems sleeping.
Additionally, living with significant levels of stress and battling anxiety can also impact your physical health. Long-term anxiety means having high levels of stress hormones in your body, potentially leading to weight issues, digestive problems, a weakened immune system, and blood pressure concerns.
Ways to Manage Anxiety in a High-Stress Job
Short of leaving your job, are there ways to manage anxiety? There are many things you can do to help reduce anxiety and better manage stress.
1. Identify Your Triggers
It’s not always simple to know what triggers anxiety at work. You may feel a general dread from the moment the workday begins and not be sure if there’s one actual trigger. To pinpoint what may be causing the most distress, pay attention throughout your day and write down when you feel the most anxious.
You may notice you have a hard time focusing on your work after encountering one particular coworker or your anxiety spikes on days when there are Zoom meetings to attend. By having a clearer idea of what sparks the anxiety, you can take steps to address the problem.
2. Name Your Core Fear
Anxiety can become tangled up in many individual worries, but digging deep to find your core fear is what can help you manage all those other stresses. Are you afraid of being seen as a fraud? Of losing your job? Of being humiliated by coworkers?
Consider worst-case scenarios and how you would cope. Facing a fear outright can often strip it of its power over you, so give yourself the time to really look at what is causing you so much psychological distress.
3. Take Micro-Breaks
Taking short breaks throughout the day to relax and regroup can lower your overall anxiety levels. Step away from your desk for a minute or two, or set your tasks aside and take some deep breaths.
You can help manage anxiety symptoms when they start by practicing mindfulness. One effective exercise is to focus on five things you see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. This is a great grounding exercise that can prevent the spiraling of thoughts.
As part of a micro-break, you can also try a body scanning exercise. It involves checking in on your entire body, from your toes to your head, to see if you feel discomfort. If you do, you can make conscious attempts to relax that part of your body.
4. Get Some Exercise
When you’re dealing with a high-stress job, it can seem impossible to fit exercise into your routine. It’s important that you do so, however. Exercise triggers endorphins, which are feel-good hormones that improve your mood and combat stress. Aerobic exercise is the best option to achieve this goal.
You don’t need to join a gym or buy fancy equipment. A walk around your neighborhood or following a no-equipment video online can be just as helpful. The point is just to get up and move.
5. Set Boundaries
To better manage work-related anxiety, it can be helpful to set boundaries. For example, if one of your stressors is a lack of work-life balance, it can help to set hard boundaries around when you start and end your work day. This ensures your work doesn’t bleed into your personal life.
It’s also helpful to arrange one or two things you can do per week that honor your mental and physical well-being. If spending a quiet night at home reading helps to stabilize you, set a day of the week when that’s what you do, come rain or shine.
When setting boundaries, consider if there are specific behaviors from coworkers that add to your stress and anxiety levels. If your coworkers like to hang out in your space and that bothers you, protecting that personal space can be a great place to start.
It’s also important to learn how to say no. If you’re being asked to do things that are beyond your job description, you can respectfully assert yourself.
6. Create a Safe Space
If you have a cubicle, desk, or other personal workspace, transforming it into a mini-sanctuary can help significantly. Having family photos around you, natural plants, or anything else that brings you comfort can help you through moments of anxiety.
Even if you don’t have personal space, you can carry things with you that make you feel safe, such as a keychain with a loved one’s picture. You can also take the time during your commute to ground yourself and make yourself feel secure. Sit an extra minute in your car to listen to a song you love or pop those headphones in on the train or bus.
7. Find Opportunities to Laugh
You’ve likely heard the saying, “Laughter is the best medicine.” In many ways, that’s true. It can boost your mood, strengthen your immune system, and even protect you from the damaging effects of stress.
If you’re struggling with anxiety at work, taking a quick break to read a funny meme or watch an animal video that makes you laugh can help ease your distress and stop the anxiety from getting worse. Chatting with your most amusing coworkers and having a laugh can accomplish this, too, if that’s a possibility.
8. Get Professional Guidance
If you find that your anxiety is getting worse and you have a very hard time functioning, consider speaking with a therapist. They can help you understand where your anxiety comes from and what you can do to better manage it.
By engaging in behavioral therapy sessions, you can learn how your thought processes impact your mood and behaviors and how to make the necessary positive changes. There are many therapeutic options to help you better manage your stress and anxiety.
Ease Your Anxiety and Improve Your Well-Being
Your mental health has a direct impact on your physical health. If you are struggling with anxiety because you have a high-stress job, your overall well-being is at risk. By incorporating mindfulness techniques, setting boundaries, and taking breaks, you can better manage your job’s demands while staying mentally healthy.
At Plus by APN, we offer treatment options to help you manage mental health concerns that impact your functioning. With full behavioral health assessments and targeted therapies, our team can help you address anxiety and its impact on your life. Contact us at Plus by APN to learn more about the options we offer.
References
- Mayo Clinic . “Chronic Stress Puts Your Health at Risk.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 1 Aug. 2023, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037.
- Mayo Clinic. “Exercise and Stress: Get Moving to Manage Stress.” Mayo Clinic, 3 Aug. 2022, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/exercise-and-stress/art-20044469.
- Melchior, Maria et al. “Work stress precipitates depression and anxiety in young, working women and men.” Psychological medicine vol. 37,8 (2007): 1119-29. doi:10.1017/S0033291707000414
- National Institute of Mental Health. “Anxiety Disorders.” National Institute of Mental Health, Apr. 2024, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders.